A waterspout turned tornado launched an inflatable bounce house with three kids inside on Fort Lauderdale Beach on Memorial Day Monday. The children were thrown to the sand before it was sent flying above palm trees and into a roadway, according to Fort Lauderdale officers.
The three children were quickly tossed and injured when the bounce house they were playing in at 801 Seabreeze Avenue crash-landed, while another close unoccupied bounce house was also lifted to land on the state road, Fort Lauderdale authorities stated. Both worn-out inflatables stopped in a parking space.
The children were conscious and alert when they were admitted to Broward Health Medical Center, Keven Dupree, a spokesperson from Fort Lauderdale Police, stated.
Six-year-old Shamoya Ferguson suffered a big bruise on her forehead, and doctors chose to keep her overnight for observation in the hospital. She was with her 11-year-old stepbrother AJ when they dove from the inflatable bounce house that flew at least 15 feet into the air. Meanwhile, Shadaja Bryant, a five-year-old, sustained a broken arm after the violent ride. Bryant even thought she was about to die when she fell onto the dirt after bounce house flew.
An official police statement on Monday evening confirmed no other pedestrians or vehicles were hit by the bounce houses.
The two bounce houses were secured to a basketball court as part of a city-funded family activity area set up for the Memorial Day holiday. The tornado shattered a concrete pole holding a basketball hoop.
It all began as a waterspout in the sea. Nearby sunbathers watched on in horror as it approached the shore, turned into a tornado and sent the bounce house whirling, then elevated it above the palm trees.
Once a waterspout advances to shore, it is then identified as a tornado, according to the National Weather Service. They classified the waterspout on the South Florida beach as an EF-0 tornado.
Imagine the parents' horror as the tornado hit near their location. It was great scare for Bryant's father, Ryan Howard, who stated he felt shaken and helpless and was crying by the time he got his daughter from the beach to the hospital.
Video on local television stations revealed how the waterspout, a whirling column of water and air haze stirring from the sea onto the sand of Fort Lauderdale Beach, throwing a canopy and blowing one of the bounce houses before propelling it into the air.
